Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Wednesday that he does not support criminalizing abortion in his state.
\u201cWe have no criminal penalty,\u201d he said in a\u00a0CBS News interview. \u201cThe penalties are for the physician.\u201d
Florida\u2019s six-week abortion ban is not in effect,\u00a0pending a lawsuit, but would enable the state to pursue felony charges against \u201cany person who willfully performs or actively participates in a termination of pregnancy,\u201d it reads.
DeSantis said those penalties would be for medical providers, not women seeking care, saying he is \u201cabsolutely not\u201d in favor of criminalizing abortion for women and that it \u201cwill not happen in Florida.\u201d
The presidential candidate has not said whether he would support a national ban similar to his state\u2019s pending six-week law or the current 15-week law.\u00a0
\u201cI support pro-life policies,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll be a pro-life president. But at the same time, I\u2019ve got to chart the course and be honest with people about, Okay, how do you advance the ball like we did in Florida? And the way you do that is really bottom up.\u201d
Abortion has proven an important issue on the 2024 GOP campaign trail. While all GOP candidates consider themselves to be anti-abortion,\u00a0some have endorsed national bans, while others have not.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and former Vice President Mike Pence are among the candidates who have said they would back a national 15-week abortion ban.
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